Bodkin.



Patented Oct. 5, 1909.-

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BODKIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 9, 1907.

Patented Get. 5, 1909.

Serial No. 387,816.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ESTELLA (lass, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bodkins, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to bodkins and, particularly, to a form of bodkin capable of threading the interstices of fabrics, garments, etc, in opposite directions.

Among the objects of my invention may be noted the following: To provide a bodkin which can be used to insert a ribbon or tape in the interstices of material by employment of a cord drawing upon one end thereof; to provide a bodkin by means of which, when the ribbon or tape is withdrawn from the in terstices of the material, a cord can be drawn into said inte 'i-es by said bodkin so as to hold said interstices in position for retaping the material and so as to hold the material in proper condition for readily retaping after laundrying; and to provide, what I have chosen to term, a double-acting bodkin by means of which the interstices of the fabric may be laced or threaded with facility, both before and after laundrying.

With the above objects in view, and others which will be pointed out during the course of this description, my invention consists in the parts, features and elements as hereinafter described and claimed.

In order to properly disclose my invention, I have provided a sheet of drawings, wherein: v

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of my bodkin; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the blank from which the bodkin of Fig. 1 is formed; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another form of my invention; Fig. 4t is a plan view of the bodkin of Fig. 3 developed upon a plane; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of*still another form of my invention; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the form of Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a plan view illustrating a piece of material. showing, in combination with the interstices thereof, the operation of my bodkin.

Referring to the drawings, in Fig. 2, the numeral 1 indicates a blank of sheet-metal given a form suitable for my purposes, which is bent substantially centrally so as to pro- .duce the superimposed, coextensive, normally closed, resilient jaws 2. One of the jaws has a tang 3, struck up therefrom, upon which to impale or snag the end of a ribbon or tape st for aiding and holding the same between the said spring jaws 2. At the opposite end of the jaws, the body of the bodkin is formed into a loop 5 forming substantially an eye through which a cord 6 may be passed for a purpose presently described. This form is made of sheet'metal, as will be readily understood.

In the form of Figs. 3 and 4, the bodkin is made of springwire of substantially the shape shown and bent midway its length, so as to provide the two superposed, coextensive, resilient, normally closed jaws 7. The opposite end of the bodkin, at the bend, is provided with the aperture 8, through which a cord may be drawn as in the first form, while the normally closed jaws are intended to grip the tape or ribbon firmly. By making the bodkin of wire, the same is very light and can be made of precious metals at small cost.

In Fig. 5, another form of my invention is shown wherein the jaws 9 and 10 are hinged together at their rear end, as at 11, thus providing two coextensive clampingjaws or plates adapted at their free ends to engage a ribbon or tape and at the hinge end to provide a passage between the two, as at- 12, for the cord, as heretofore referred to. This form of bodkin is made of sheet-metal and is easily manipulated to hold the jaws together at their ends upon a piece of tape. One or both of the jaws in this form may be provided with a projection 13, or point for engaging the tape or ribbon to be manipulated.

It will now be understood, upon reference to Fig. 7 that a bodkin, according to all the forms of my invention, is provided, which is double acting in its operation, the free ends of the aws being intended to firmly engage a tape or ribbon, while the jointed end is threaded through the interstices of the material for drawing the said ribbon 4t after it. When it is desired to withdraw the ribbon or tape for the purpose of laundrying the material or garment l t, the bodkin is gripped upon the end of the tape or ribbon and a cord 6 is then threaded through the eye at the opposite end of the bodkin, whereupon the tape is pulled, thus drawing the bodkin through the interstices and with it the cord 6. When the tape or ribbon and the bodkin have been completely withdrawn from the interstices and the cord completely laced into the latter, as shown in Fig.- '7, the bodkin is removed from both the tape and cord, thus leaving the latter in the material. The material or garment can now be laundried with the cord in it, thus preventing the interstices of the material from being stuck together by starch, so as to render it difficult to thread the bodkin through them. After laundrying, when it is desired to again insert the ribbon or tape in the interstices, the bodkin is again looped onto the cord and then its free ends gripped upon the tape or ribbon, whereupon the cord is pulled, thus dragging the bOCllilll and ribbon or tape after it. In this manner both the insertion and removal of the ribbon or tape in the interstices of the material are facilitated and all ditliculty in connection therewith overcome.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A bodkin having at one end coextensive clamping aws provided with engaging means to hold a strand of flexible material substantially in alinement with the longitudinal axis of said bodkin, said jaws being normally closed at the said end ready for operation, and said bodkin being also provided with an eye at theextreme of its opposite end to receive a loop of material, whereby the bodkin may simultaneously carry a single-strand of tape and a doubled cord at its respective ends for the purpose of drawing the bodkin with the tape through the interstices of the fabric in one direction and the bodkin with the cord in the opposite direction without unthreading the bodkin, substantially as described.

2. A bodkin having at the extreme of one end an eye passing therethrough, and having its other end terminating in relatively movable, superposed, coextensive, normally closed clamping-jaws ready for operation, one of said jaws being provided with a relatively immovable means for engaging and holding strands of material.

ESTELLA CASE.

lVitnesses MARY M. FERRY, M. F. lVooLARD. 

